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Eldridge's film stance does him no credit

Sentinel & Enterprise

Updated:
05/18/2016 07:02:58 AM EDT

Supporters of retaining the state's film tax credit continue to make their case for preserving the incentive for TV and movie productions, in the face of opposition from the governor and a local legislator.

Last year, the House frustrated Gov. Charlie Baker's bid to roll back the 25 percent tax credit, but the governor came back this session with a bill that would limit the state credit to what it was first proposed in 2005.

Tax-credit backers scored a victory last month when the House rejected a budget amendment to cap the credit at $40 million. House Speaker Robert DeLeo believes in the credit's economic benefits, so it made sense for his members to follow his lead. According to State House News Service, Margie Sullivan, executive producer at Redtree Productions and president of the Massachusetts Production Coalition, said cutting the credit would hurt small businesses across the state and send thousands of good-paying local jobs to competing states.

And, of course, it would hamstring the state's film and TV production industry, which, according to Sullivan, enjoyed one of its most productive years in 2015. Chris Byers, who opened New England Studios at Devens a few years ago, reinforced that sentiment. He told the News Service, "The tax credit is definitely critical to the existence of the film industry." Without it, he'll never reach his goal of supporting up to 1,200 jobs a year.

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Aside from DeLeo, other key lawmakers favor keeping the tax credit in its current form, including state Sen. Thomas McGee. The Lynn Democrat, who's also chairman of the state Democratic Party, believes the credit has produced the anticipated result -- creating jobs and supporting small businesses.

We support keeping the tax credit as is, for the economic benefits Devens-area communities enjoy. You'd expect legislators whose communities would suffer from a tax credit reduction -- like ones around New England Studios -- would step up and show their support. That's what state Rep. Jennifer Benson did. The Lunenburg Democrat issued a statement that as someone who represents Devens, she has witnessed the economic benefits of the tax credit.

However, that's not the position of state Sen. Jamie Eldridge. The Acton Democrat, who represents all three Devens communities -- Ayer, Harvard and Shirley -- supported the governor's efforts in 2015 to eliminate or drastically reduce the tax credit.

And apparently he still remains unswayed by the positions of the House speaker, the state chairman of his party, Devens' state rep, and all the citizens of his district who might lose their jobs should the credit do away.

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